Barb, Author at Homeschool Nature Study

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Book Project – 10 Best of Everything National Parks

Nature Book Project 2016

This is one of my favorite nature related books of the year! 10 Best of Everything – National Parks by National Geographic (ISBN 978-1426207341).

Our family loves to visit the national parks as a way of refreshment from our normal lives and as an adventure in the natural world whether it is close to home or far away on a vacation. Paging through this book puts the travel bug in gear and I start to plan in my imagination my dream road trip national park vacation. Honestly, the information and the images in this book inspire me to get outdoors and experience more of what our national parks offer. Isn’t that what a good travel book should do?

10 Best of Everything- National Parks caught my eye as I searched through Amazon.com and I purchased it as part of my nature book project for 2016. I set the book on my living room table which allowed us all to page through and read up on our favorite categories. The book is organized by categories that list the “10 best” from the national park system. For instance, in the category of Seasonal Enjoyment there are lists for best wildflower blooms, best fall foliage, best night skies, best sunrise/sunset points, best picnic spots, best sounds of nature, and best scenic drives. If you click the amazon.com link you can preview all of the 80 categories.

Shenandoah National Park 10 Best of Everything Review @handbookofnaturestudy — Shenandoah National Park – Best Cabins, Best Wildflower Bloom, Best Scenic Drive, Best Culinary Delights

Example showing how we used the book:

Using the index, we were able to look up specific national parks to discover where that park shines. We were planning a trip to Shenandoah National Park when the book first arrived and using the index gave us some great ideas for things to do and see on our visit. Shenandoah made the “10 best” in several categories which helped us make some choices before our trip about where to stay, how to plan our time, and what to keep our eyes out for as we traveled. We experienced the Skyline Drive (best scenic drive) each day as we moved from place to place and were rewarded with grand sweeping views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We were on the look out for wildflowers (best wildflower bloom). We stayed in the Skyland Resort cabins (best cabins). We drank Prohibition Punch at the Tap Room (mentioned in the best culinary delights section). Did we agree with the book’s selections? Yes!

I look forward to using this book with each national park visit. (If you want to read about our Shenandoah trip or any of our other national park trips, you can click over and scroll down to the list at the bottom of this entry: Shenandoah National Park.)

What I enjoyed about this book:

Helped us create a new national park wish list-things we want to see and experience after reading about them
Enhanced our visits with great information from the book’s categories
More than just a book of lists but it gave great descriptions and information about each park within a category
The index made looking for a particular category or park super easy

Short list of things that I see could be improved (getting really picky):

The book needs a map as a reference to easily show where all the parks are located.
Although the index is helpful and easy to use, I would love to have a chart that summarizes the parks and categories. This visual would have made it a lot easier to see at a glance where each park stacks up.
Also, I think when a park is chosen for a category, it would be helpful to have a symbol next to the name that would indicate which season is best for a visit to experience the park at its best.

I am thoroughly satisfied with this book and it will keep a place of honor on my nature book library shelf when it isn’t being used or sitting on my coffee table. Even if you don’t plan on traveling to many national parks in the near future, the information contained in this book is a wonderful way to learn more about the national park system.

Big thumbs up for this book!

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Barb — 1 Comment

Insect Nature Study – Potpourri

As part of this month’s newsletter nature study suggestions, we have been on the lookout for insect home related subjects to take a closer look at in person. As it usually happens, we found some interesting things to learn about….research was definitely involved.

It does amaze me that there are so many things happening around us in the natural world that go unnoticed. Take the image above. My husband was trimming some tree branches from our maple tree last weekend and as we cleaned up the mess, we both noticed this growth on a branch. What is it? A gall of some sort? We decided to submit the image to Bugguide.net for some help in identifying what insect created this home. Guess what? They told me it was a praying mantis egg sack! Cool stuff! (I found this article very interesting: Dave’s Garden Praying Mantis.)

We are prone to walking right by the ant hills on our hikes. The common ant is an amazing engineer and we don’t often take time to note his industriousness.

Ok, this insect is not in his home but rather in MY home. Do you think he wants some toast or a bagel? We safely escorted him outside after taking a few pictures.

My cat is always hiding in the bushes and as we looked for signs of insects in our year she emerged from her hiding spot covered in cobwebs and dried leaves. She knows all the good spots to hideaway in our front yard but is willing to welcome us as we walk up the steps with a friendly meow. Give her a pet on the head as you walk by if you ever visit.

We will continue to look for insect homes as the season progresses. I didn’t spy any leaf rollers this time but I am keeping my eyes wide open for the opportunity to see these interesting creatures up close.

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Posted on September 9, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Insect Leaf Miners and Rollers

Leaf Miner and Leaf Roller Challenge from the Archives:Outdoor Hour Challenge – Leaf Miners and Rollers

and the More Nature Study – Autumn ebook.

We are going to start off our autumn nature study with one that will require some careful observations. The first time we did this challenge I was pleasantly surprised at how many subjects we found to look at as part of the leaf miner and leaf roller nature study ideas. There are videos in the archived challenge for you to view that will help you get started and know what you are looking for. Make sure to read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study!

You may be interested in viewing our family’s entry from the original study: Searching for Leaf Miners and Leaf Rollers. You can see that we used a magnifying lens to get a good look at the leaf damage so you may want to do the same thing. Don’t forget that this month’s newsletter has ideas for studying insect homes: Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter September 2016.

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

I have received many emails asking me specific plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the autumn and winter seasons. I had hesitated to post up a plan until I had it nailed down on my calendar. But, now I have it all straight in my mind and I’m going to share the specifics in this post. Make sure to bookmark it or add the topics to your calendar for future reference. My wish is that we all have some interesting and productive nature study time as a regular part of our week. If you miss a week or you don’t have access to the particular topic, just pick up where you can participate.

Remember that we are going to be starting up the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival again on November 1, 2016. If you create a blog entry with your nature study activities featured, please send me the link and I will add it to the carnival. My email is: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

September 9 – Leaf Miners

September 16 – Pears

September 23 – Milkweed

September 20 – Fall Webs

October 7 – Fall Color Walk

October 14 – Chipmunks

October 21 Sparrows

October 28 – Leaf Study

November 4 – Thistles

November 11 – Maple Tree and Seeds

November 18 – Oaks (from the archives)

November 25 – off

December 2 – Silent Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 9 – Senses Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 16 – December World (from the archives)

December 23 – off

December 30 – off

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Homeschool Wishlist Cash Giveaway on Instagram!

This giveaway is now over. The winner will be chosen and notified soon!

I’m very excited to be a part of an Instagram centered Homeschool Wishlist Cash Giveaway! I have teamed up with 39 other bloggers to give you the opportunity to get a little extra cash to finish off your curriculum buying for the year or provide you with a little fun money to take that special field trip or get some additional resources for your homeschool nature study.

In order to be eligible, you will need to use your Instagram account (free app) to follow and like all 40 of the participant’s Instagram accounts and the giveaway post. You must like and follow each of the 40 accounts in order to successfully be entered into the giveaway.

This isn’t as complicated as it sounds and I will list the steps below. I think it will be totally worth your effort to do lots of clicking on Instagram to have the chance at winning the extra cash to take your family on that dream nature-related field trip you have always had in the back of your mind. I would love to hear that one of my readers or Instagram faithful followers has won this giveaway!

$800 in cash!

Start by clicking over to my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorhourchallenge/

1. Like this giveaway image and click follow above if you aren’t already by clicking the little heart under the image on Instragram.

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2. Tap on the image (on Instragram) to find the next person in the loop (their Instagram name will pop up). Tap on their name to go to their profile.

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3. Find this same giveaway image on their Instagram page.

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4. Repeat steps 1-3 on every photo/profile until you make it back to the profile you started with.

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When you make it back to the person you started with (ME), you’ve completed the loop.

This Giveaway will run for 10 days (September 5th – September 14th midnight your time). The winner will be announced by @marlenegriffith within 72 hrs of the giveaway closing.

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*Money will be sent via PayPal (this giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with PayPal.)

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RULES: All entrants must make their account public for the duration of the giveaway. This is to verify entries and ensure that you are following all of the participants. The winner will be chosen at random and will have 24 hours to claim the prize after being tagged in this post. If within 24hrs we do not hear from you, another winner will be chosen. Account to contact: @marlenegriffith

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DISCLAIMER: This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm that they are at least 13+ years of age, release Instagram of all responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s terms of use.

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Posted on September 1, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – September 2016 Insect Homes

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

September 2016 – Insect Study: Insect Homes

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. There may be a delay in your receiving the email so please don’t email me until the second day of the month if you haven’t received the link on the first. For some reason, some email providers take longer to receive the newsletter email.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of September so be sure to download it before 9/30/16.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

This edition of the newsletter will focus mainly on insects and their homes. This is a more difficult topic but please don’t be intimidated. Read the newsletter for a variety of insect-related nature study ideas and lots of free printables.
This month I have reprinted from the More Nature Study Autumn ebook the Gall Dwellers Outdoor Hour Challenge. This will give you a real look at what a challenge in an ebook is like…please enjoy this freebie with your family when the opportunity arises.
September Nature Study Planning Page that gathers lots of ideas for this month’s nature study (including links to the four Friday OHC studies that will be coming up in September).
I wrote an article for this edition that includes the Insect Home Nature Journal Topper for you to use with your family.
Plus as a bonus, I am including the Insect Study Grid and Bookmark printable page from the archives.
Especially for younger students, I have included a coloring page for your insect study in this edition of the newsletter.

As you can see from the list above, I am back to a more full edition of the newsletter. I missed the freedom that having more pages allowed me to include a little of this and that to round out your nature study. Please let me know if there are things you would like to see in up-coming editions of the newsletter!

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.

Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.

Please click over and read the step by step instructions for using the Handbook of Nature Study and the Outdoor Hour Challenge in your nature study plans starting in September. Let me know if you have any questions.

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Our Wildflower Observations – July and August

Here in California, July is a dry month. No rain at all falls in July in an average year. So, that means everything starts to turn brown (or some say “golden”). August has been dry as well…not a drop of rain!

The few colorful wildflowers that bloom are a welcome sight in an otherwise dry landscape.

So we felt like we cheated a little and used our time in Oregon to spy out some colorful and abundant wildflowers for our nature study delight. I filled my wildflower notebook with a whole list of flowers we found. See an image of one of the pages at the bottom of this post.

These were flowers around our campsite in Southern Oregon. Such diversity in shape, color, and scent!

Pearly Everlasting is one of our all time favorites and during July it is along most of the trails we hiked.

Amazing and wonderful gentian was spotted at Port Orford on the Oregon coast. This was a new flower for me and its color and dots make me smile.

This is a new insect for us that we discovered on the coast of Oregon. It is called the Red shouldered ctenucha and it has a blue body and silver tips on the wings. Incredible find!

Isn’t this a pretty flower? Looks a lot like sneezeweed but my field guide doesn’t show it growing along the Oregon coast…anyone know what it is?

I am continuing my wildflower journal as part of my 2016 nature study goals. I endeavor to keep track by hike what specific wildflowers we find. It is a great lesson in learning how flowers bloom at different times of the year and I hope to continue this project into next year and beyond. It makes me happy to page through and see all of the different flowers we know and have enjoyed on each and every hike. My journal is small enough to fit in my pocket or in my daypack and it doesn’t weigh much at all. It is now a habit that I stop and record my list right after my hike if I haven’t taken time during the hike to do so.

Have you been looking at wildflowers?

Here is a link to the original challenge from earlier in the month: Summer Wildflowers

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Posted on August 26, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Summer Brook Study

Summer Brook Study – From the Archives

Brook Study

For Members: This challenge is found in the Autumn 2015 Nature Study ebook.

We last visited our brooks back in December and I always like to do a comparison study in a different study. Even if you didn’t complete the brook challenge back in the winter, get started with your own brook nature study now during the summer. We always find something interesting along the water’s edge and if you can take a container to dip and fill with water, I am sure you are going to find even more to be excited about. Use the ideas in the archive challenge to get started.

Make sure to look for things like tracks in the mud, insects hiding under gravel or rocks, and insects (like the caddisfly or the water strider).

For Members:

Look in the Ultimate and Journey level printables for this Brook and Stream Nature Study printable.

Plus members can download and use the February 2016 Rocks and Creeks newsletter for additional ideas to use with this challenge.

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Barb — 3 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – Summertime

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen some glimpses of our outdoor life this past month. We keep finding excuses for getting out of the house and taking advantage of the summer temperatures and sunshine to explore some familiar and new to us places. My husband has worked in wildland fire fighting for over 20 years so we never really had a “normal” summer where we could take a week’s vacation. Now that he is nearing his retirement, he is making the choice to arrange his schedule to be able to take off a day here and there and even a week for a camping trip. It is wonderful!

I realized as I wrote this post that I haven’t taken a really good photo of us in the kayak…I promise I will this month and share a little about our new water adventures using this slow and quiet means of transport. It makes for some wonderful nature watching!

In the garden….we are experiencing a lot of butterflies this year. My office window is on the second floor over the front yard garden and I see butterflies flutter by as I work. Sometimes I just can’t resist running out there with my camera to try to capture their beauty. This tiger swallowtail was a perfect subject against the bright summertime blue sky. I never get tired of watching these magnificent creations.

Not quite as majestic, but still amazing, are the fiery skippers with their huge eyes and antennae.

We had such a great time learning about the marine snails (mollusks) on our trip to Oregon. There is just so much to learn and my husband has become my most devoted nature partner. We read and explore and then research some more about whatever catches our interest. This is such a great way of learning as we self-direct the topics and ways in which we learn. If you have any doubts about this kind of learning for your children, you may want to try it yourself to see the way it reaches your heart. It is the connections we make as we learn that make the deepest impact on our life. I will never look at the lowly marine snail in the same way again.

In this image you can see the stack of books I had on my desk this morning. I have been doing a lot of reading and research and it really shows in the variety of books that have collected there on my desktop.

I have a pot of morning glories outside my back window and I can see it from my kitchen sink. Every morning there is a beautiful surprise unfolding in the early hours. I love this image of the flower puffing out and bursting open. This is the actual color of the blossom as it was opening today…amazing!

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.

How Do You Join?

Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.

During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

You can use the free monthly newsletter along with the Handbook of Nature Study book for your nature study. Adding a membership gives you access to the Ultimate Naturalist Library’s ebooks and printablse which provides members with even more in-depth studies each month.

Read more about it!

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Snail Observations at the Tidepools

This month as I wrote the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter, I really didn’t think I would find any snails to observe up close. Some topics are like that and I don’t anticipate having the opportunity to see the month’s focus topic in person. But, many times I am proven wrong and all of my preparation for the study is rewarded with an awesome experience.

This happened while camping on the Oregon coast when we found lots and lots of black turban snails (Tegula funebralis) to view up close and in detail.

Here is a short YouTube video that we uploaded showing the animal that lives inside the shell:Black Turban

This is the star of our nature study…the black turban which in real life looks quite blue or purple. We discovered the reason for this doing some research once we were able to get on the internet. Take a close look at who is living on the outer shell of this black turban! Amazing since the size of the snail shell is probably a little over an inch….it just looks bigger in my close up images. (click on the photo to really see it)

They get pounded by the surf and it actually wears away the outer shell to expose the colorful layers underneath. This image shows just how plentiful they are on this part of the coast. This is only exposed at low tide so the black turban actually can capture some water inside its shell and then “plug” it up with the operculum to keep itself moist until the tide rises again and they are under water. Amazing creation!

If you look closely at the images, you may spy some limpets and barnacles on the rocks surrounding the snails and also on the snails outer shell! This was not apparent to use until we looked at the images and is quite common.

Want to learn more about the Oregon Tidepools? Here is a wonderful and helpful link: Oregon Tidepools.

Just a sidenote: I found a wonderful page on the Monterey Bay Aquarium that features many invertebrates that you might like to share with your children. So many of these don’t look like they should be invertebrates so it may spark some interest in the topic for your family. Plus, it is a beautiful page! Invertebrates – Animal Guide

Here is my very sloppy journal page for our discovery…it is more about the learning than the journal at this point in my life. I hope it inspires you to create something after your snail study!

There is still time to subscribe to the blog and receive this month’s newsletter link in your confirmation email.

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Author: Barb

Nature Book Project – 10 Best of Everything National Parks

Insect Nature Study – Potpourri

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Insect Leaf Miners and Rollers

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

Homeschool Wishlist Cash Giveaway on Instagram!

$800 in cash!

Start by clicking over to my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorhourchallenge/

Our Wildflower Observations – July and August

Have you been looking at wildflowers?

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Summer Brook Study

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – Summertime

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Read more about it!

Snail Observations at the Tidepools

There is still time to subscribe to the blog and receive this month’s newsletter link in your confirmation email.

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!